B10-leading Hoosiers regain form after tough start

Coming off its first College World Series appearance, the Hoosiers
were ranked as high as No. 3 in the preseason. But they started 12-10
and had two pitchers go out with season-ending injuries.

With a month left in the regular season, the Hoosiers (25-11, 11-1)
have won 13 of 14 and lead the Big Ten by two games over an Illinois
team they'll face this weekend on the road.

"We weren't winning," coach Tracy Smith said, "so the rough start is
defined by the wins and losses. But I felt good about the way we were
playing. We hit the ball but weren't getting hits. Our pitching was
solid and our defense was solid."

Dustin DeMuth, Sam Travis and Kyle Schwarber are the big bats, as
expected, and the Hoosiers' 25 home runs lead the Big Ten. But they're
not the same as they were offensively a year ago. They're batting .279,
23 points below their 2013 average, and scoring 5.5 runs a game compared
with 6.7.

Indiana has been winning with strong defense and a pitching staff
that has had to adjust to the loss of weekend starter Kyle Hart and
closer Ryan Halstead. The Hoosiers have allowed just two runs the last
41 innings.

Left-hander Joey DeNato (8-1, 2.12 ERA) has been a rock on Fridays,
and Christian Morris (2-2, 2.49) has been solid in place of Hart on
Saturdays. Will Coursen-Carr was outstanding as a freshman, but he's
struggled. Enter senior lefty Brian Korte, who made his first Big Ten
start since 2011 on Sunday and gave up one run in 6 1-3 innings against
Michigan State.

"We know they're good, we've seen them in practice," Smith said of
redshirt freshmen Belcher and Kelzer. "The only thing missing was game
time. I'm not surprised by results of some of the guys who have been
getting the ball."

A look around the country:

TITAN TROUBLES: Cal State Fullerton placed coach Rick Vanderhook on
paid leave last week. The school said in a statement "the university has
received allegations that it is obligated to review." The preseason No.
1 team in two major polls, the Titans are 18-16 overall and 3-6 in the
Big West after getting swept by Cal Poly. Assistants Mike Kirby and
Jason Dietrich are serving as co-coaches.

LONGHORNS LASSOED: TCU swept Texas for the first time since 1994,
allowing one run over three games against a team that had gone into the
weekend with wins in 15 of 17 games. Texas dropped from first to third
in the Big 12, two games behind Oklahoma State and one behind TCU. The
Longhorns host OSU this week.

MARTIN MILESTONE: Florida State's Mike Martin became the third coach
in Division I history with 1,800 wins, joining Texas' Augie Garrido and
former Wichita State coach Gene Stephenson. Martin reached the milestone
with Saturday's 4-3, 13-inning win over Wake Forest.

TROJANS FINALLY SWEEP: Southern California won three straight against
Arizona for its first conference sweep since 2009. The Trojans (20-17,
9-9), who've had four straight losing seasons, have won five in a row
and are sixth in the Pac-12.

GATORS BOUNCEBACK CONTINUES: Florida's under-.500 season in 2013 sure
looks like an aberration now. The SEC East-leading Gators (27-13, 12-6)
swept Georgia for the first time since 2010 and have won six straight.
They've won 11 games in come-from-behind fashion.

FALCONS FLYING HIGH: Air Force has won five in a row -- its longest
streak since 2002 -- and eight of its last nine. When the Falcons
(14-25, 5-13 Mountain West) won three straight over a UNLV team rated as
high as No. 20, it marked their first sweep against a nationally ranked
opponent and their first over the Rebels since 1970.